Project ARONDIGHT
The collapse of Project VAJRA set powered armour development for general use back by decades, but it would have many unintended payoffs. In VAJRA-II, it saw the speedier development of small, man-portable fusion reactors, energy shields, and the advancement of solid light barriers; in Project NAEGLING, the original VAJRA design philosophy benefitted from time and resources provided by the more ground campaign-oriented UNSC Army Corps of Engineers; and in Project EXCALIBUR, various VAJRA personnel helped in the development of other prototype weapons, vehicles and equipment that would be introduced to dramatic effect during the course of the Great War. One of the lesser-known offshoots of VAJRA was Project ARONDIGHT. Co-developed by the UNSC Army and Marine Corps in 2535, using a small number of former VAJRA researchers and materials, ARONDIGHT was intended to develop updates and replacements for equipment used by the two branches. To this end, the project consisted of two semi-autonymous subcells; THUNDER, focussing on Marine equipment, and LIGHTNING, focussing on Army equipment. The different combat tactics and philosophies of the two branches meant that, while the work provided the UNSC's ground forces in general with better equipment, this equipment needed to be generalised enough for modification and continuous update to avoid having to be replaced in the near future as improvements were discovered. ARONDIGHT would develop improvements and replacements to the UNSC's gear that would eventually become standard by 2550, with early testing showing significant promise. The UNSC Air Force would also provide funding to the Project late in its development, with a third sub-cell, BACKLASH, set up to provide Air Force pilots with a replacement flight suit for atmospheric and vacuum operations. The latter would be hastily deployed in 2552, after the Fall of Reach, but the results of THUNDER and LIGHTNING had already been adopted by both branches earlier. After the war, Project ARONDIGHT would continue to provide upgrades and replacements to UNSC warfighter equipment as the UNSC prepared itself for reconstruction and consolidation. History The ground invasion by the Covenant of Harvest proved two things. Firstly, it proved that the Covenant was not totally invincible; while they certainly enjoyed a technological and numerical advantage, those in themselves were not always deciding factors. The UNSC's better use of inter-unit communications, small-unit tactics, and an efficient chain of command allowed its ground forces to operate with better precision and, especially in the cases of Grunts, Jackals and Brutes, far better unit cohesion and individual discipline. The second thing it proved was that humanity, even with these advantages, could not withstand an empire like the Covenant long without advancing far beyond its present state. The Covenant's use of energy shields and directed energy weapons often meant that the Covenant could simply use sheer firepower where numbers and efficiency failed them, and they were unafraid of collateral damage. In the face of such an enemy, it became increasingly obvious that a solution was needed for groundside warfighters. The equipment used by UNSC soldiers and Marines between 2525 and 2542 was originally designed for use in the earlier Insurrection, a war fought against human opponents with at most technological parity; combat armour was designed to protect wearers from enemy bullets and explosives, and was considered by the UNSC High Command to be more than enough for this task. Against the Covenant, however, this equipment would prove to be woefully inadequate; ballistic plating that could turn away 7.62mm armour piercing rounds would simply melt when struck by plasma, leaving fragments of molten metal to inflict even more injury to the wearer, and was often considered dead weight by Marine special warfare teams who took to discarding it when speed and stealth was required. Some makeshift measures were found - the addition of a reflective/refractive outer layer to ballistic plating would improve survivability against plasma shots, and Insurrection-era equipment would still prove effective against Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher and Type-25 Carbine rounds to a limited degree, but a more solution was sought. Elements of the original Project VAJRA had made significant progress in this direction. Foreseeing the increased use of DEW technology, VAJRA had already developed a prototype metamaterial, codenamed Ancile, designed to deflect UNSC-developed chemical laser weapons such as the early M6 G/GNR. The material was far from perfect - extremely difficult to manufacture and prohibitively expensive to field - but by this point UNICOM were desperate as they saw the casualty rates being sustained by both Army and Marine Corps warfighters with armour insufficient for the task. Early attempts met with mixed success; the M50 Combat Armour series introduced Titanium-A battle plating over the chest and integrated ceramic-titanium composites to improve survivability, but it resulted in a much heavier suit. Improvements were made in the B and C iterations, but it still remained cumbersome and heavy. ARONDIGHT would produce the XM51 and XM52 series of combat armour series, with the latter eventually gaining adoption among most of the UNSCDF combat personnel. Testing was conducted from 2536 to 2542, with cooperation from the 427th Marine Regiment, long accustomed to cooperation with weapons development groups. During the Battle of Lafenyal, members of the 427th wore Arondight equipment during the battle, the first such test during the Project - the combat performance gathered valuable data, and though the colony would eventually be glassed by the Covenant, the UNSC suffered fewer casualties and dealt more proportionally than previous battles - the abilities enabled by the Arondight allowed superior evasion, and improved accuracy. Two members of the 427th wore the prototype VAJRA suits - perhaps a final knock at FLEETCOM for cancelling a project with so much potential. The data gathered during their field use was also invaluable in developing further Arondight improvements, especially in terms of communications uplink connections. Approval for the M52 series was swift, and the Army and Marine Corps would rapidly adopt variants of the armour series tailored for the mission roles they would be intended for. Army variants would feature an advanced electronics suite with radio uplink allowing field units to connect to orbiting intelligence satellites or warships, as well as improved helmet-mounted displays and onboard hostile/friendly tracking. Marine suits, on the other hand, would trade the uplink for weight reasons, though traditional support from the Navy would compensate for this, and featured an onboard equipment designation index - the operations Marines would be deployed on would often require use of enemy equipment, and the ability to instantly brief one's self on the usage of such materiel was deemed vital. Both versions would feature improvements over their predecessors, including superior neural uplinks for electronics operation, use of advanced anti-DEW materials to dramatically improve survivability, and capacity for future improvement and adaption as new equipment entered service. The M52 series was seen as a long term investment by both military branches, and would be heavily customisable. Between 2542 and 2552, the M52 series would see widespread and popular adoption among combat units, beginning with Marine and Army special warfare units such as the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, but eventually reaching the "regular infantry". By 2552, the M52 series had become the standarc combat armour for the UNSC Army and Marine Corps. The success of ARONDIGHT led the Air Force to request a variant of their own, replacing previous flight armour series used for combat pilots. The third sub-cell of ARONDIGHT, BACKLASH, was established as the M52 entered service and was formed from personnel from the previous two groups, now transitioning into technical support roles. BACKLASH would develop a variant of the combat armour for Air Force personnel, equally effective in atmospheric and exoatmospheric roles, using a far more advanced onboard electronics suite than either the Army or Marine variants, enabling pilots much more efficient integration with the cockpit controls and other systems. Other measures were added; a distress beacon was included for downed pilots, broadcasting coded coordinates on encrypted UNSC channels; and improvements to the helmet-mounted display, allowing better tracking of weapons load, flightpath, velocity, fuel, etc. The fall of Reach delayed the introduction of the BACKLASH variants, but they would be hurried into service between August and November as the Covenant invaded Earth. By the end of the war, the M52 has become the standard combat armour of the UNSCDF as a whole, with Navy pilots adopting variants of the BACKLASH suits for their own use Variants Baseline Phase One: THUNDER Phase Two: LIGHTNING Phase Three: BACKLASH Design History Testing was conducted from 2526 to 2532, with cooperation from the 427th Marine Regiment, long accustomed to cooperation with weapons development groups. During the Battle of Lafenyal, members of the 427th wore Arondight equipment during the battle, the first such test during the Project - the combat performance gathered valuable data, and though the colony would eventually be glassed by the Covenant, the UNSC suffered fewer casualties and dealt more proportionally than any other battle previously - the abilities enabled by the Arondight allowed superior evasion, and improved accuracy. Two members of the 427th wore the prototype Vajra - perhaps a final knock at FLEETCOM for cancelling a project with so much potential. The data gathered during their field use was also invaluable in developing the Arondight improvements, especially in terms of communications uplink connections. The Phase One suit was essentially the proof-of-concept prototype - in that regard, it was a success. The Phase Two suit was a further improvement upon the basic concept, featuring a full-face helmet mounted digital display, featuring integration with the user's neural interface. The Phase Two incorporated the same strength-enhancing features, but improved the reaction times significantly through the incorporation of superior computer processing power, streamlining it within existing B44A Body Armour. The result was a soldier or marine that, externally, was identical to a regular Marine, while possessing the enhancements. Design Features Quotes * "Most of the improvements ended up being used by the ODST's. A few entered service among the standard infantry - the Helmet-Mounted Displays we use was developed by ARONDIGHT." * "Man, the helmet looks just like the MJOLNIR Recon, doesn't it? Can I haz it?" * "I heard someone considered calling it the HECTOR. Someone else wanted to call it ACHILLES or AJAX. Obviously they had a Troy-theme going. I'm really glad they didn't go with that - Arondight was the mythical sword used by Lancelot, I believe." * "It's no MJOLNIR, but its better than the crap we had before '42."